Outreach Scout Foundation (OSF) and International Labour Organization (ILO) has called for more investments in social protection programs such as cash transfer, saying such programs can improve the welfare of people.
OSF with support from International Labor Organisation (ILO) on Thursday conducted Media Orientation Social Protection program in Lilongwe.
Speaking with reporters, International Labour Organization (ILO) National Social Protection Coordinator in Malawi Reagan Kaluluma commended government for allocating money to urban poor during the Covid-19 pandemic considering that people will be getting some money for number of months as some of them have lost livelihoods due to the pandemic.
According to Kaluluma, there is a need for reducing expenditures in other sectors so that more resources should be used for implementing social protection at a better level.
“If you want to address something like poverty, you cannot address it in a year because it requires a long term plan such as 5 years to assess on how it has worked according to your experience,” he explained.
Outreach Scout Foundation Executive Director Amon Lukhele said the social protection programs can be public or private measures that can include cash transfers, benefits for children and families, maternity protection, as well as benefits for old people, unemployment persons, for people with disability and for survivors.
He added that the programs are supposed to be conducted by government sectors such as health and education sectors in order to assess if the they are benefiting people living in a society.
“We have noted that much of the investment is coming from developmental partners, but we are looking at local investors to know how government can sustain the programs, as they looking and waiting for the donors,” he explained.
